I stumbled on this forum a couple of weeks ago and really thought I would enjoy angling. I live in Bangalore. I read the forum threads a little while and based on the knowledge I gained, I bought the Abu garcia Blackmax/cabela proguide
The reason why I choose casting over spinning gear was I saw in the comparisons where it says casting is difficult to learn. Since I am going to learn the whole idea/art of angling anyway, I thought I will start with the difficult one.
I was worried I made the right choice/ordered the right rod and reel. I would like to see your opinion as I have chance to cancel the order for another couple of days.

Thanks for the reply Christopher. I did not spend much time deciding the rod, Just made sure the rod (Cabelas pro guide) had enough good reviews that I wont feel cheated. I almost ordered shakespear ugly stik, but then I thought I could buy a good rod from here later ( with your help maybe )!

My worry is that you will be heartbroken with the number of bird's nest(tangled line) that occur with a baitcaster.

Kryptoz

Today all the baitcasting reels comes with either six pin Centrifugal brakes or the mag brakes. So birds nest is not at all a problem if you know to set it properly (I am not saying you will not have Bird nest however with some practise you will master it).

Reason for Bird Nest:

1. Incorrectly set Centrifugal Brakes or Mag brakes.
2. Trying to Cast to Far with lighter weights without a proper matching rod.
3. Not setting the Lure weights correctly.

If you can avoid these few Kryptoz the advantage of a Baitcasting reel is a lot more than the disadvantages.

Thanks a bunch Kingfish and Chris. I sure will remember your warnings/advices and will be extra careful in using the baitcast. I just thought since I am new, I could learn the hard way with some mistakes and learn from it. Your advices sure will help me be extra careful when I start using my new toys !! I just saw that the items are shipped already, so its a bit late, though its not impossible to change it. But I really think I will keep this and try to make myself believe there is only one type of fishing reel/rod and that is baitcast and will try to master it !! :). Worst case I will trade this/buy a new spinning reel !! :) Thanks once again Kingfish and Chris !

Casting with a baitcasting (multiplier) reel is some thing that you have to master over a period of time.
If you set your cetrifugal brake too tight, then you will lose out on the distance of casting.
The way to avoid the birds nest is the precise thumb work. you should be able to stop the reel over spinning once the lure hits the water. i.e .. stop the reel with your thumb as soon as the lure touches the water.
As long as you are casting during day time, you should not have any problem since you can see the lure touching the water. But during nights you cannot see the lure hitting the water and it is your thumb that has to decide when to stop the over spin.
If you can do 10 casts in the night without a birds nest, then you have mastered the art of casting with a multiplier.
I only spin with a bait casting reel (over 30 years) and i very very rarely get into a birds nest.
Also my experience says that it is much easier to fight a fish with a multiplier than a spinning reel. With a spinner you drag the fish towards you. with a baitcaster you bring the fish towards you.
And never use a braided line on a bait casting reel.

Thanks much Ravi for the pointers. I guess I choose the difficult path for the new hobby, but I don't regret it much !! Even at 30 years, I still beat good bunch of youngsters in counter strike on a 14 inch laptop, I guess I have fast fingers ! Hopefully I will learn it faster since I start using it rather than switching to baitcast from a spinner!
Can you please elaborate why no braided line on the cast reel ? I did not buy a line when I ordered since I thought I would buy braided from IA (Bopanna).

Baitcasters do have their advantages, however when you take all things into accout I would go for an eggbeater.

I have about 3 - 4 baitcasters, even specially ordered left hand winds, but I seldom fish with them. I have had my share of birds nests, though none very serious, some were frustrating enough and at times on a hot bite, casting into winds can also add to overspins and you have to have your thumb over the spool at all times just in case. This from my limited experience with baitcasters.

They are nice reels to have, but if it is your first 2 - 3 fishing reels, I would advise you to go in with a spinning reel and get a bait caster later if you want to have a go with them.

i have Shimano curado 301e7 baitcasting reel with Shimano basstera 7ft MH rod . u will not feel comfortable still u match it with a perfect matching rod . i am not gonna say againt spinning. i use Baitcasting where its needed and spinning too .. both have there advantage and dis-advantage. To me if on spinning you can cast 10 times in a min i can cast 15 - 16 times .. More over about Abu black/silver MAX reels there are bad and they dont come for long,, I have one fallen at home .. But its a good reel to get used to baitcasting. As setting goes ..once u master baitcasting you can be accurate and cast no matter what kind of place it is. u can use against fishes like murrels, bara's , etc

But said what when i go for saltwater or for some Mad fighing fish. I take my shimano Twinpower 6000pg. Baitcasting cant hold one too fishes that fight crazy . Like masheer , Grouper , red snapper, etc once ur hooked on these fishes the 1st think that pops in there mind would be stones, he he he ..

i have Shimano curado 301e7 baitcasting reel with Shimano basstera 7ft MH rod . u will not feel comfortable still u match it with a perfect matching rod . i am not gonna say againt spinning. i use Baitcasting where its needed and spinning too .. both have there advantage and dis-advantage. To me if on spinning you can cast 10 times in a min i can cast 15 - 16 times .. More over about Abu black/silver MAX reels there are bad and they dont come for long,, I have one fallen at home .. But its a good reel to get used to baitcasting. As setting goes ..once u master baitcasting you can be accurate and cast no matter what kind of place it is. u can use against fishes like murrels, bara's , etc

But said what when i go for saltwater or for some Mad fighing fish. I take my shimano Twinpower 6000pg. Baitcasting cant hold one too fishes that fight crazy . Like masheer , Grouper , red snapper, etc once ur hooked on these fishes the 1st think that pops in there mind would be stones, he he he ..

hope this helps ...

Hey dont forget the sizes of fish your Silver max has pulled out and that is why it is in its retirement stage.....

For mad fighting fish use a multiplier buddy, dont try to tame a bull with a low profile reel ( I am not saying anything about your Curado... Just saying the C4 is better...... )

I always use a Braided line with my baitcasting reel.I always feel the soft nature of braid makes it easier to remove a bird nest from a braided line than a Monofilment line.

I do not see the harm in using a braided line in Baitcasting reels, however if you are using a mono or fluro too many bird nest would spoil the line.

Kryptoz the Abu Garcia Black Max have Mag Brakes which would make your life a little bit easier when it comes to Bird Nest.

It is a good low profile one of my friend have caught all sorts of fish with it both saltwater and freshwater.

Hi Chris, do you use a braided line (on your baitcaster) to spin/casting a lure?
My experiences had been otherwise. i thought it was much more difficult to undo a birds nest in a braided than the mono. Braided tends to get into a more serious knot than the mono, resulting in cutting off the line.
Also during an overspin the braided tends to get into the gap between the spool and the reel body.

Hi Kryptoz...do not get confused with whatever we have to say. Just go ahead and make your decision. you will learn fast.

Ravi

Last edited by ravinp58 on Tue Nov 30, 2010 7:37 am, edited 2 times in total.

With a spinner you drag the fish towards you. with a baitcaster you bring the fish towards you. Ravi

Hi Ravi,

Care to share some light on this?

Regards,

Bobby

Bobby,
I have always been using baitcasters to spin (excepting when there are heavy winds and you have to cast against the wind).
Of many years of spinning with the multiplier, and in my opinion, I think it is much more easier to handle the fish with a baitcasting reel.

With a spinning reel, the reel is seated at the 'downside' of the rod and you tend to drag the fish towards you with the help of the drag of the reel.
Whereas with the baitcaster the reel is seated on the upper side of the rod and you tend to use your rod to fight the fish and you do not depend much on the drag of the reel. Hence I said bringing the fish towards you.
This is my opinoin out of many years of using the baitcaster for spinning.
But am sure there would be personal preferences.

Thanks for the explanation, I was trying to figure out what you meant by "Drag" and "Bring". Did you mean Winch V/S Pump?

My personal opinion is you can do either with both, like you said it is a matter of personal choice.

From fishing with Game Reels 80lb+, you tend to get into the winching bit with them when you get tired, all these reels are Right Hand Wind, Game reels are the only ones I like with right hand winds. I will never forget a day when a 3lb MJ completely had me on 30lb game tackle because we were in a really small boat and I was sitting in an awkward position, I was fighting the tackle more than the fish. i had to hand over the tackle to a mate because I was completely spent, later on my ego hurt more than anything. We used 30lb game tackle because we had some huge Rock Cods break us of earlier in the day on spinning tackle.

Hi,
Very interesting.When me and the kids fished the amazon, all the fishermen we saw were using bait casters. Peacock bass fishing with suface lures is a lot like snake head fishing. Absolute Zen where you have to make the most accurate casts into a clearing amidst a zumble of sunken trees and weeds. We were amazed by the accuracy of the brazilians fishing with us. Point to note that all casts were back hand flips .

However these guys were even more awe struck by the precision casting we were making with our spin set up and kept talking about our accuracy every evening when we got to gether at end of the days fishing.

I always use a Braided line with my baitcasting reel.I always feel the soft nature of braid makes it easier to remove a bird nest from a braided line than a Monofilment line.

I do not see the harm in using a braided line in Baitcasting reels, however if you are using a mono or fluro too many bird nest would spoil the line.

Kryptoz the Abu Garcia Black Max have Mag Brakes which would make your life a little bit easier when it comes to Bird Nest.

It is a good low profile one of my friend have caught all sorts of fish with it both saltwater and freshwater.

Hi Chris, do you use a braided line (on your baitcaster) to spin/casting a lure?My experiences had been otherwise. i thought it was much more difficult to undo a birds nest in a braided than the mono. Braided tends to get into a more serious knot than the mono, resulting in cutting off the line.Also during an overspin the braided tends to get into the gap between the spool and the reel body.

Ravi

I use Both Braid and Mono. When I am spinning (with Abu C4 & Cabela Fish Eagle) I use braided Line, and when I am Bait fishing (With Senator) use Mono.

Never Faced any incident with the braid getting in between the spool and reel body gap.

With Braid if you get a Bird's Nest and after pulling you are not getting the line out it would make a 'V', look out for the V and pull it and than pull the main line.

Baitcasters are very accurate in presenting their lures to,say, barramundi
amongst river snags (sunken trees) or casting under overhanging branches.

This comes with constant practice and the use of an "educated thumb",as
mentioned earlier by ravinp58.

With spinning reels (that I favour), we can make similar, accurate casts to the same sort of obstacles by "feathering" the line.

This simply means that we make a cast that overshoots the target in the
air, at which stage we put our forefinger against the lip of the reel.

This stops the lure in midair and with practice, one can land it exactly
where one is aiming for.

For overhanging branches, one makes sidecasts almost parallel to the
water.

Best way to learn accurate casting - find an open space, place a bucket
at say 30 meters and practice feathering until you start dropping
the lure with a CEP (Circular Error Probability) of 10-20 cm around
the bucket (or in the bucket!).

This will give you the confidence to make those difficult casts when
accuracy is paramount.

I use baitcasters & spinning outfits. I like (read love) using the baitcasting outfit, but do not use it very often due to various limitations while fishing. I use a Abu 6600D6 for jigging & an Abu Revo SX for bait fishing, casting lures. I recently started casting lures & realised that I can get more distance with a baitcaster, however, due to lack of practise I am not all that accurate. With a spinning set up I am almost dead accurate if casting lures within the casting range & hence it is my personal preference.

The issue that I face with baitcasters is that besides the rare / odd birds nest that occours, is the line cutting into the spool while using braid. This happends when you have a big strike & fight a fish, once reeled it, the line tends to cut into the line spooled on the reel due to its thin diameter. The next cast after landing a big fish is going to cause you lots of misery unless you strip your line out & respool it with even tension on the line. While jigging I use braid on the baitcaster & for lures / baitfishing, I use mono.

You can avoid the braid digging in, if you load the braid in the first place quite tightly ,either by transferring it from another reel held with a reasonable drag, or trail the braid out behind a boat with a small popper at the end which can give you the load required to fill the reel tightly.

trail the braid out behind a boat with a small popper at the end which can give you the load required to fill the reel tightly.

Jeen

You need to be a bit careful about this, depending on how much line you let out, I have let out line trailing behind a boat (doing about 6 knots) without anything attached and the drag just the line creates in the water is huge, so much so that it can actually break the line off. It is unbelievable really till you actually try it out. I am sure line dia and breaking strain will have a lot to do, I had trailed 80lb and 130lb mono line out. I do not know if putting a popper at the end actually could lessen the drag owing to the lure floating at the other end. Perhaps Jeen has tried it, or perhaps he means once let out, you stop the boat and wind the line it, but it will surely be a hell of a task. I say this is just from what I have experienced while doing it. The reason I had let off line was because our trolled baits started to spin and was caused the line to gain twist.

You can avoid the braid digging in, if you load the braid in the first place quite tightly ,either by transferring it from another reel held with a reasonable drag, or trail the braid out behind a boat with a small popper at the end which can give you the load required to fill the reel tightly.

Jeen

HI Jeen,

not tried spooling braid from behind the boat & not sure if I'll be spooling my reels behind the boat.

Anyway, I usually spool my braid quite tightly to begin with, so initially it is not an issue. The issue arises after a couple of casts & retreiving with a lure. The only time that I could avoid this to some extent was when I used fireline (the original), which was a bit flat.

anyway, I will give it one more shot, even if it means respooling after every trip.

Nice being on or by the water....was out shore fishing last weekend & the weekend before that. Was plesantly pleased to see the type of fish & size of fish within casting distance. While we got some decent fish, others have lost supersized ones. hopefully this last for some time.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum